John Wood Audio, a tale of woe

[struth]

so that others of a less technical bent

Thats me that is

[Audio Al]

I was worried all along about John Woods reputation , Forums can be ruinous for some people , As I mentioned in the thread earlier I heard one of these in a high end / cost / quality system and it sounded very good

[Clive]

I was worried all along about John Woods reputation , Forums can be ruinous for some people , As I mentioned in the thread earlier I heard one of these in a high end / cost / quality system and it sounded very good

He should have stuck to his guns and refused to ship, insisting on it being picked up. Unfortunately valve amps can fail, or as in this case valves, plus shipping them is fraught with problems. Access to someone to help diagnose problems is useful too. Shipping solid state amps is mostly so much easier which avoids pretty much all of what happened here. Maybe valves are not for everyone. :-(

[struth]

Very true. Big valve amps without original factory packaging don't travel well.

[Clive]

Very true. Big valve amps without original factory packaging don't travel well.

Agreed. I've shipped a few, they need some very serious double boxing.

[Berni217]

So, the guy had a perfectly good amplifier all the time.

Ain't it great when humans manage to sod up a simple thing like talking to each other. Belligerence?, intransigence? Who really knows? Still, it looks like someone will get a bargain unless the bidding gets a little enthusiastic.

To refresh people memories, this Amp as good as it may be was not the one that was ordered in the first place from John Wood.

Therefore, as a customer, if you receive the wrong good (damaged or not), you have the right to claim and get the item ordered or a refund. It is definitely not the customer fault. Is it?

[mikeyb]

Hi,

I have just read the whole of this tale and would have misgivings bidding for the amp, the owner should just keep it and enjoy it, I think it unfair that anyone would take advantage of the situation purely to gain a cheap amp.

I know the owner has said to auction the amp but I feel the money should go to him and not to charity, he can then do with the money what he feels right at the time.

Pride and and stubbornness can be fickle.

Mike.

[Audio Advent]

Yeah, no-one bid

Problem number 1 is that if he get's the money from the sale of the item then he can't persue his court claim which he strongly believes in (else he would be getting twice the money... and it would possibly be fraudulent?).

My personal opinion (or legal guess) is that he can't pursue the money if he decides to give it away to charity either - he can only claim for actual loss and giving something to charity is a choice, not a loss. His small claims court depends entirely on the amplifier being given back to John Wood and therefore the baliffs weren't entitled to do anything either IMO - they weren't court baliffs by the sound of things, only privately hired ones who won't care about these things, just charge their fees and do whatever you say. I can't imagine he'd be allowed by the court to keep both the amp AND claim the money but perhaps I'm wrong?

Aside from that, assuming he's given up on pursuing the case, it's really it's up to the owner of the amp who says he wants the money to go to charity... I can't imagine now though it will look that good if he changes his mind and asks for the money, nor will some people be happy if they bid thinking that at least it's for a good cause, only to find it's not..

[PaulStewart]

Sam,

You are totally wrong I'm afraid, the OP has a county court judgement that requires the seller to refund his money. There was no mention in the judgement of the goods being returned, so he is entitled to dispose of them as he sees fit. BTW All bailiffs are private licensed individuals, as are High Court Sheriffs, they are however officers of the court.

This may be a great amp, but the court has judged that it is not "Fut for purpose" as ordered. A really sad situation, it just goes to show you you shoul always collect or have thesecthings delivered and check the out before accepting them. It also shows the danger of items that seem to be great value for money, 'cos this can mean the seller has not enough leeway to provide back up without making a loss.

[Ninanina]

I've just read this through and what a sorry story it is...

I think the overriding fact is that the amp delivered was not what the buyer ordered... The buyer ordered a newly built amp (as indicated in his email to the seller which stated "please build and supply one integrated valve amplifier") however the buyer actually received a 'previously owned' amp and on that premise alone I believe the buyer has a right to a refund... never mind that it had a fault even though it turned out to just be bad valves

Even if I wanted another amp I definitely won't be bidding as I think the buyer should be refunded and return the amp to the seller...

Just my 2p worth of course